Devotion on Psalm 121

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I was visiting with my son Joshua two days ago and he, along with his young family, were going to spend the day at a beach in Florida where I used to go on Friday afternoons during my year of vicarage in Bradenton, Florida (Anna Marie Island).  During the early spring of 1980, my Friday ritual was to watch a Pirates’ spring training ball game and then work my way to the beach to relax for the rest of the day…and it brought back some nice memories when Josh said that they were going to that same beach forty years later.

I was able to experience a very good year of vicarage at Hope Lutheran Church in Bradenton and one of the reasons that it was such a good vicarage experience is that Pastor Paul Ruff allowed me to do quite a bit of ministry that year.  Most remarkable was that I was able to make about 1,000 hospital and 200 shut-in calls that year (six afternoons each week were devoted to hospital and shut-in visitations, rotating between the Blake and Manatee hospitals) and about half of those hospital calls were to people who designated themselves to be Lutheran yet did not have a church home (“cold turkey” kind of calls since most of those people had not attended church for quite a while).

I grew a lot through those visitations, especially in my knowledge of Scripture and how to apply them in the lives of people who were experiencing significant health issues.  There are many fine Psalms that are appropriate for the hospital setting yet my favorite “go to” Psalm was Psalm 121, especially before a person was going to experience a surgery:

I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.

This Psalm is especially helpful to us as we deal with the physical and financial anxieties that the virus has brought into our lives.  The One who made the heaven and the earth is the One we turn to for help in our time of need.  He will not allow your life to be moved any farther than what His plan is for your life; and He will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.

We pray:

He’s got the whole world, in His hands;
He’s got the whole world, in His hands;
He’s got the whole world, in His hands;
He’s got the whole world in His hands.

He’s got you and me brother, in His hands;
He’s got you and me brother, in His hands;
He’s got you and me brother, in His hands;
He’s got the whole world in His hands.

He’s got you and me sister, in His hands;
He’s got you and me sister, in His hands;
He’s got you and me sister, in His hands;
He’s got the whole world in His hands.

He’s got the little bitty babies, in His hands;
He’s got the little bitty babies, in His hands;
He’s got the little bitty babies, in His hands;
He’s got the whole world in His hands.

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.